Financial Services Minister Tadahiro Matsushita of Japan, who was at the helm of the insider trading crackdown that brought down Nomura Holdings' top to executives, has died. His death was ruled a suicide by police.

Nomura Holdings may be pulling back on the global stage, but it’s looking for ways to boost its presence in Asia to take advantage of the region’s growth and its rising coterie of affluent individuals.

The Japanese brokerage firm Nomura Holdings plans to seek nearly half of a planned $1 billion in savings from cutting European and Middle Eastern operations, with the rest to come from the Americas and Asia.

A Nomura Holdings analyst wrote in a letter to clients on March 22 that Citigroup executives indicated willingness to sell more than the scheduled 14% stake in Morgan Stanley Smith Barney if Morgan Stanley is interested.

In the wake of cuts announced Thursday by Royal Bank of Scotland Group that it will close or sell its equities, mergers advisory and equity capital markets businesses, slashing 3,500 jobs, other European banks may follow suit.